HOMELAND: Season 1: Episode 2 ReviewHomeland continues its intriguing plot this week, but after two hours, is it beginning to tire already?
I say that sentence with just a minor negative because while I am loving this show and its gripping me from beginning to end, I do hope we get more than just scenes of Carrie staring at her Laptop like she is watching Big Brother for the remaining episodes. Lets be honest and I say this as a fan, the first half hour of the second episode was just this, there was no movement of the story or even hints or signs that Brody is the bad guy she suspects, but while I admit its gripping entertainment seeing this cat and mouse game, for a while it seemed that this episode was becoming just a filler which is something you do not expect straight away in a new show.
Brody is struggling to adapt for being back home, he awakes with nightmares and even hurts his wife in his sleep which leaves her with bruised arm. The guy is a mess and it seems strange that he is just placed at home without getting any required help from any professional. Brody spent a good time of this episode either sitting in a corner of a room or just walking, nothing wrong with that, I mean we should expect this from a man held captive for many years, but it does not really move the plot forward for us. I do not not know what I am expecting, maybe a hint that he could be a bad guy and that Carrie is not coming across like the demented girl she is.
At the moment what has she got on him? The fact he has a nervous twitch in his fingers which could mean a secret code or the fact the guy is just nervous. Come on guys, we need something more than this.
Last week I said that Carrie was the new Jack Bauer, another character who will go to any means necessary for their country, but lets be honest with two hours gone in this show, by now Bauer would have already tortured, spat out Brody, got the answers he needs and moved onto the next bad guy, I am sorry even though I am really liking Claire Danes in the role, I just want a bit more from her than just this crazy person she is coming across as.
Yes there be viewers who will disagree with me and say that its all part of the build up and that Homeland won’t show its hand too early and yes I agree with that. But is there enough material f to stretch for a full season? I mean where is the danger coming from? If we had a storyline involving some terrorist plot on American soil then it may show the threat that Brody could possibly offer to the country, but at the moment there is nothing, just Carrie’s instinct and a man who has been to a dark place and at the moment looks like he needs all the help and support he can get.
The acting on show is flawless though and this is quality TV and this may seem like a negative review but its not. Its still the best TV Show on the box at the moment and its finally filled a gap left by the end of numerous much loved shows. The one thing you can say that Homeland has borrowed from 24 and that is the last five minutes of the show that chokes you with tension. Flashbacks of torture and then Brody praying to Allah made yet another slight hint that Brody is the bad guy and yes it will made me want to scream out for the next episode but again this follows the same path from episode 1.
Is this going to be familiar pattern in every episode? We will soon find out now next week!
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